youth art camps
Tuesday to Friday 1-5 pm
Ages 9-17
Learn from professional artists, painters and creators and make art!
Our summer program is designed for youth to explore a variety of visual and digital art and cultivate creativity! Students will develop new skills and techniques while having the flexibility and freedom for self-expression and discovery. We pair traditional mediums like drawing, ink and watercolors with technology, using ipads and ipencils to design, sketch and learn new tools. With less than 14 youth in each camp, students receive quality instruction and get to make art alongside not only professional artists, but also new friends!
“It was so cool seeing my daughters confidence soar after the week of camp.”
”Great projects with a focus on older kids.”
“(I learned) blending in, highlighting, realistic artwork and real life advice. I love art. It showed my feelings in a colorful and artistic way.”
Thank you to the Dotty & Frank Light Family for making this camp possible! Special thanks to the following organizations for supporting scholarships to low-income families.
2024 camp sessions
The Wonderful World of Webcomics
Ages 12-17
June 25-28 from 1-5 pm
Jen Hernandez
Welcome to the world of webcomics, where students will create their own comics to share online featuring their own characters, stories concepts. Students will practice with digital drawing for character design, organizing comic stories, comics illustration, and sharing their artwork publicly online! Perfect for students who love to tell stories, are interested in graphic novels, manga and comics, or who want to develop characters with digital illustration or gain experience with professional-level traditional media. Comics will be shared on a student art website, creativeaccessart.com, maintained by the instructor, and students will have the opportunity to create their own online artist profile.
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Day 1: Creating Characters, day in the life comic, Fundamentals of digital comic drawing
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Day 2: Creating Worlds, Activating the senses in comics, Something surprising comic
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Day 3: Creating Problems, Simple story structure for big impacts
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Day 4: Creating Webcomics, Sharing your comic, Online profile, Making a logo
Jen Hernandez is an artist and educator based in the Pacific Northwest. Her painting, illustration and storytelling in comics centers on themes of nature, adventure, and fantasy inspired by temperate rainforests and Filipino folklore. Her artwork, writing can be found at jenhernandezart.com.
Optical Art & Graphic Design: Pattern Play and Illusions
Ages 11-14
July 9-12 from 1-5 pm
Krista Raasch
Dive into the world of patterns, illusions, and designs this summer and discover how art can trick the eye and captivate the mind! This dynamic 4-day journey will unlock the secrets of graphic imagery, optical illusions, and the mesmerizing art of camouflage. Each day unfolds new mysteries of visual perception, challenging students to explore and express themselves through innovative art projects, from creating optical drawings that defy the eye to mastering the ancient technique of Notan in their personalized grid-based masterpieces.
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Day 1: Graphic imagery, Optical drawings and art
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Day 2: Camouflage, Nature's patterns
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Day 3: Optical printmaking, Linocut carving and printing
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Day 4: Grid composition, Notan, Exploring personal themes
Krista Raasch is an interdisciplinary artist and arts educator, MFA UO. www.KristaRaasch.com
L'Art du Soleil: Art & Nature
Ages 11-14
July 16-19 from 1-5 pm
Frédérique Château
Join us on a multi-media adventure in celebration of the richness and vibrancy of summer! This fun and creative camp will offer a journey for students to capture the essence of summer using a variety of art mediums. We will make cyanotype prints under the bright sunshine and create handmade sketchbooks with our prints. We will paint bold and colorful summer blooms with acrylics, and experiment with shadows and colors using watercolors. We will also make stunning painted garden signs to celebrate the magic of the season. Each day, through new techniques and materials, students will explore the various elements of art and composition, develop their observational skills, and cultivate their unique artistic expression.
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Day 1: Cyanotype printmaking, Sketchbook prep
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Day 2: Creating sketchbooks, Intro to acrylic painting and composition, Summer blooms underpainting
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Day 3: Finish summer blooms paintings, Garden sign thumbnail sketches
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Day 4: Spray painting and typography, Garden sign painting, Shadows in watercolors
Frédérique Château is a fine artist and art instructor in a range of specialties including painting, drawing, and printmaking. She has been teaching art classes and camps for children and teens in Eugene and Cottage Grove since 2015, and is currently the art teacher at the Village School (K-8). She strives to support the creative growth of her students, empowering them to tap into their unique voice and imagination while helping them develop their artistic skills.
Figures & Faces
Ages 12-17
July 23-26 from 1-5 pm
Uyen Thi Nguyen
Spend four days drawing and painting people! From doing quick sketches to painting an oil portrait, students will make tons and tons of fast drawings of people, from sitting to standing to everything in between. Working both from everyday life and with techniques from different masters of illustration, students will learn about gestures, proportions, loose linework, and expressive postures and faces. For the second half of each day, students will work on portrait painting using a photo reference of their choice. They will begin with a one color underpainting, adding layers each day and culminating in a completed oil portrait painting.
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Day 1: Components of the body, Sketching figures, Intro to portrait painting
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Day 2: Different positions, Proportions, Oil painting portaits
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Day 3: Hands and facial expressions, Quick sketches, Continued painting
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Day 4: Figure drawing, Sketching everywhere, Final layer of portrait painting
Uyen-Thi Nguyen is a figurative and portrait oil painter, arts educator, and author of “Garden of People, A Portrait of Cottage Grove.” utnpaintings.com
Art on Toys
Ages 11-14
July 30-August 2 from 1-5 pm
Misty Roze-Krukoski
Welcome to a playful journey of art and toys! Students will embark on a hands-on exploration of designing and creating art on toys while simultaneously inventing and crafting their own unique collection of playthings. Each day will build upon the skills and knowledge learned previously, guiding students through the exhilarating world of toy design and artistic expression. Through a series of engaging projects and activities, they will learn to conceptualize, design, and bring their toy creations to life, all while tapping into their inner voices and celebrating their unique perspectives.
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Day 1: Intro to Toy Design, Thumbnails, Hexaflexagons
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Day 2: Mesmerizing folding blocks, Magic Art/Photo Cubes
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Day 3: Design in Motion, Paper Toy Automata
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Day 4: Take Flight with a Kite, Design and Build Aeronautic Creations
Misty-Roze Krukoski is an interdisciplinary artist and seasoned professional designer in the toy industry, working on products for companies including Disney, Toys-R-Us and KidKraft. https://mistyroze.myportfolio.com
Watercolor Wonder
Ages 12-17
August 6-9 from 1-5 pm
Will Paradis
Delve into the amazing versatility of watercolor, beginning with basic color theory and mixing strategies, and going through a variety of techniques for applying paint including wet on wet, wet on dry, dry on wet and more. Students will learn brushwork techniques, work with both canvas and paper and see the pros and cons of both. We will explore abstraction and representation, and learn to paint with and without pencil drawings for effective watercolor paintings. Each student receives individualized feedback and instruction, allowing them gentle guidance while having freedom and flexibility for their creative pursuits.
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Day 1: Color foundations, Brushes, Watercolor techniques
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Day 2: Landscapes, Seascapes, Space-scapes
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Day 3: Watercolor on canvas, Abstraction
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Day 4: Finish paintings, Art discussion
Will Paradis is a painter, arts educator, Lane Arts Council Artist in Residence and Art Project Coordinator MuseArt Program. art4truth.com
Comics: Fantasy & Adventure
Ages 12-17
August 13-16 from 1-5 pm
Jen Hernandez
Go on an adventure of mystery, magic, and mayhem in your own fantasy comics. This week, students will create their own comic stories featuring original characters, settings and concepts. Students will gain experience with digital and traditional media for character design, organizing comic stories, comics illustration, printing comic zines, and publishing their artwork publicly online! Students can create short-form work for sharing online, or develop ideas for long-form graphic novels based on original stories and fan fiction. Perfect for students who are interested in writing novels or graphic novels, role-playing games or who want to develop characters with digital illustration or gain experience with professional-level traditional media. Comics will be shared on a student art website, creativeaccessart.com, maintained by the instructor, and students will have the opportunity to create their own online artist profile.
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Day 1: Character Design, Character backstories and model sheets, Sketching and inking
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Day 2: World Building, Make settings and plots for your characters, Thumbnail sequences
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Day 3: 1-pages to make a big impression, Plotting out chapters and scenes
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Day 4: Mini zine featuring your characters and worlds to print and share
Jen Hernandez is an artist and educator based in the Pacific Northwest. Her painting, illustration and storytelling in comics centers on themes of nature, adventure, and fantasy inspired by temperate rainforests and Filipino folklore. Her artwork, writing can be found at jenhernandezart.com.
Fun with Painting
Ages 9-12
August 20-23 from 1-5 pm
Will Paradis
Paint to your heart's delight this week. Students will engage in hands-on painting exercises that build foundational components they can use creatively and however they choose. They will explore painters through history and create their own landscapes, seascapes, figurative paintings and abstractions, with gentle guidance and personalized individual tutelage from artist Will Paradis.
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Day 1: Color foundations, Brushwork and techniques, Painting
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Day 2: Landscapes, Seascapes, Space-scapes
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Day 3: Composition and abstraction
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Day 4: Finish paintings, Art discussion
Will Paradis is a painter, arts educator, Lane Arts Council Artist in Residence and Art Project Coordinator MuseArt Program. art4truth.com